Miscellaneous Occasions
by Liebelit
Summary: Random moments in Cain and Glitch's relationship, before, during, or after the Eclipse. This is a collection of drabbles written mostly for prompts from Sebastian-Flight and Nosferatu's Cigarette Binge. All of them are Cain/Glitch slash or friendship. From PG to R, from canon to AU, from angst to fluff, these are miscellaneous occasions in their lives together. More info inside :)
1. Headache

So as the title and summary says, this is just a bunch of random drabbles I've made over the last seven months. Some of these are just totally random things I thought of in the moment, others are one word prompts or requests from friends, and others are inspired by songs :) Most are one-word prompts and in that case the "title" is the same as the prompt word because I was lazy and had no better ideas X'D They're all unrelated unless I say otherwise in the description.

This first one is just some totally random fluff ^^

Title: Headache

Rating: PG

Summary: Glitch has a headache but something makes it better.

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><p>Cain unlocked the door to the rooms he shared with Glitch and found it uncharacteristically empty and silent. "Glitch?" He called out as he chucked off his coat on a nearby couch. He had had a long day training the new tin men recruits and the last thing he wanted to deal with now was a missing headcase. Glitch was always home by this hour, waiting for him with an eager kiss and a warm hug. But today the living room was still and quiet. Cain noticed though, that the lights were dimmed, but on, so Glitch must have been here.<p>

He opened the door to their bedroom, where it seemed all the lights had been turned off and all the curtains had been drawn, and was about to turn on the switch when a soft groan stopped him.

"Glitch?"

"Close the door... It's too bright." Cain heard Glitch mumble groggily from the general direction of their bed. He knew that tone—that "I feel like hell" tone that could crawl into his own voice from time to time—and wasted no time in closing the door with a soft click behind him.

"Okay now I really can't see anything," he said as he stepped forward slowly without even the moons' light, "You'll have to guide me, sweetheart."

"Over here," Glitch said quietly. Then after he had taken a few steps almost without bumping into anything, "You're almost there... I'm grabbing your hand."

Indeed, a soft hand took his a moment later and Glitch drew him into the bed after him. Cain curled up behind him and drew the covers around them; his vision already adjusting to the darkness.

"I didn't know you had night vision," he said lightly,

"Well, I've been here for a while..." Glitch muttered, leaning back against Cain's chest. Cain put an arm around him soothingly and pressed a kiss on the back of his neck.

"Headache?"

Glitch nodded softly before slowly turning in his arms to face him, "But this helps," he said, before giving him their daily kiss.


	2. Mall

This one is also random because I was at the mall with my mom thinking about them X'D

Title: Mall  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: The gang goes to the mall; some like it better than others.

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><p><em>Where are they, for gods' sake?<em> Cain thought for the hundredth-and-forty-second time—he was honestly counting—in the four hours since D.G. and Glitch had left Raw and him waiting for them by the fountain.

It had all been D.G.'s idea of course; to come to this great market place called a "mall" on the Otherside. Everything had been fine at first when they had all stayed together, going through the many stores and occasionally buying things that they liked. D.G. had bought C.D.s and movies, Raw had found many trinkets he liked at smaller booths rather than the larger stores, and even Cain had bought a new shirt or two. But Glitch...Glitch had loved it all. After a while, it got too ridiculous to follow him and D.G. into every store when all Raw and him wanted was to collapse on a corner and dip their feet in a bucket of water.

So eventually, the princess and the headcase had just dumped them here in front of the large fountain while they continued merrily on their shopping spree. That had been four hours ago.

"Where are they?" Cain groaned, "I just want to go home already, take a shower, and go to bed."

"D.G. and Glitch like shopping," the viewer said as he looked at the penny-covered floor of the fountain, a large hoodie hiding his unusual physique, "Cain and Raw more practical."

"I just wish that if they wanted to spend the entire day shopping they would have done it back in the O.Z." After another half hour without sight of their friends, Cain finally resigned to his fate and sat next to Raw on the fountain's edge; and waited.

He was about to ask where they could be and why this had to take so long for the hundredth-and-forty-third time, when a couple of well-known faces and an all too familiar shout broke out through the crowds.

"Cain!" Glitch called happily as he ran toward him, various shopping bags swinging wildly from both arms, "Look at all I got!"

He didn't quite get to show him though, because a second later he crashed into Cain, locking his arms behind his neck, and drove them both into the fountain with the sheer force of his hug.


	3. Piano

This one is a prompt from Sebastian-Flight :)

Title: Piano  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Ambrose finds something else from his past and Cain wants to take part in it.

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><p>The walls were warmly lit, rays of sunlight filtering through the windows, as Cain stepped into the unfamiliar room. He had gone to Ambrose's lab to ask the man out for lunch but had found the great chamber filled with nothing but indiscernible scraps; the inventor nowhere in sight. Stepping carefully around the tables cramped with unknown tools and objects, he had found a cracked door at the end of the room from which a soft lingering music flowed in and filled the air.<p>

Now that he was inside this previously unknown room in Ambrose's lab, he noticed the large windows on the far wall that let the natural light illuminate the space in contrast to the harsh artificial lights in the other room. The floors were polished wood here unlike the tiles in the lab; and instead of metal contraptions there were lines of instruments adorning the walls. In the middle of it all was a large grand piano, the man sitting on the bench tapping his pale fingers on the keys to create the haunting melody that had drawn Cain into the room.

Cain watched in silence from the doorway as Ambrose, bathed in the suns' light, continued to play the piano. His eyes were closed and his face had an expression of content ease as his fingers touched the keys lightly with a practiced effortlessness. It was only after he had finished that Cain stepped from the doorway and let him know he was there.

"That was beautiful," he said appreciatively, and sat down next to Ambrose on the bench, "I didn't know you could play. Or that you even had a piano..."

"I know," Ambrose nodded as he cast a brief glance around the room before turning back to him, "I myself just found out today."

"What was that song you were playing?" Cain asked, looking down at the advisor's hands on the keyboard.

"Oh, I don't know... Some old song I remembered." Ambrose answered softly, his gaze traveling down in thought, "I think my family used to play it a lot to me, when I was very young."

"Will you teach it to me?"

"You know how to play the piano?" Ambrose asked, his eyebrows arched in surprise.

"A bit," Cain admitted, "At least enough to learn your song."


	4. Answer Me, My Love

For the song, Answer Me, My Love by Nat King Cole because it made me think of Cain talking to Ambrose.

Title: Answer Me, My Love  
>Rating: PG-13<br>Summary: After the surgery, Ambrose remembers Cain, but it seems he doesn't love him anymore; and Cain doesn't know what he did wrong.  
>Note: This is a melodramatic bit of drabble but oh well... Some of the lines here belong to that song and not to me! This is another one of my versions of a rebrained Ambrose.<p>

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><p>"Answer me, Ambrose..." Cain kept a firm grip on the smaller man's arm, not trusting him to stay if he let go. Glitch, Ambrose, whatever his name was, the man Cain had come to love, still refused to look him in the eye; he still refused to tell him what had gone wrong, when everything was going so well between them.<p>

"What did I do wrong?" Cain pleaded again, remaining in his place only inches away from Glitch, "Please, sweetheart."

The old endearment seemed to stir something in Glitch, because his deep brown eyes snapped up to him and held him with an intensity and passion he hadn't seen since before the surgery. And even if Glitch was still silent and gave no indication of talking anytime soon, those eyes gave Cain that missing glimpse of hope that needed so much.

"You loved me, _Glitch_," Cain said with confidence, going on as he gently tightened his grip on Glitch's arm and dragged him ever so closer, "And I still love you. I don't know what happened... I thought we were... _good_ together." Cain slowly released Glitch's arm, letting his hand fall to his side as he saw those sweet, once bright, eyes looking down again; away from him.

"I'll always love you," Cain said quietly, tearing his eyes from Glitch for the first time that night, "But if you're happier without me I'll try not to care."

When he stepped backwards towards the door and Glitch didn't even flinch, Cain lost that little glimmer of hope again and turned to leave for good. He was done with trying to get Glitch to answer him; when it seemed Glitch wasn't even there.

As he reached the door and gripped the cold metal of the handle, metal that felt so much harder and colder than the one he had touched with gentle fingers long ago, he looked back at Glitch and to his surprise found the former headcase looking back at him.

"Can't we start again? Please, Ambrose." he said softly, trying one last time; almost a whisper that he wasn't even sure the other man had heard._If you still think about me, listen to my prayer..._

Cain wasn't entirely sure what happened in that one second after he had that thought, but suddenly Ambrose was in his arms again, out of his own desire this time, embracing him and fitting against him perfectly just as he used to. Suddenly Ambrose was kissing him, pressing warm familiar lips against his, and silently answering all his prayers.


	5. Blood

This one was a prompt from Nosferatu's Cigarette Binge

Title: Blood  
>Rating: R for, well, blood<br>Summary: Cain was an instant too late.  
>Note: Sorry it ended like that but I couldn't bring myself to write what I originally had in mind ;n;<p>

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><p>Cain only saw the flash in which Glitch pushed the princess out of the way; and then he was on the floor, a pool of red blood spreading beneath him. Barely registering that the rogue rebel had been taken down, Cain ran the rest of way and was kneeling by Glitch's side in an instant. An instant too late, he thought with growing dread as he cradled Glitch in one arm and pressed hard against the gushing wound in his chest with the other hand. There were other, smaller, hands close by, not quite touching as if afraid to cause even more damage.<p>

"Go get Raw!" He didn't bother looking up as she got to her feet and ran. Instead, he kept his eyes on Glitch, who was jerking in his arms.

"C-Cai—" he gasped, a wet chocking sound robbing the words from his lips as a drop of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and more continued to pour from his wound.

"Don't try to talk," Cain shushed him as gently as he could managed, trying not to panic even when Glitch's wide, scared eyes looked up at him and his breathing became more shallow; coming in errant little gasps as the blood kept spreading. He could feel the exit wound on Glitch's back and pressed on it too, his hands and clothes soaked in his friend's blood. When a pale, bloodstained hand reached up and wrapped weakly around his wrist, Cain tore his gaze from the wound and looked back at the warm brown eyes that seemed to be losing their light.

"I-I..." Glitch coughed weakly, blood spattering across his jaw as his eyelids fluttered and his grip on Cain's wrist tightened in fear or pain or both Cain didn't know. All he wanted to do was comfort him and tell him it would be alright; caress his cheek and tug that stray curl away from his eye. All he did was keep pressure on his wound with both hands, and try not to dwell on how it wasn't enough to stop the flow of blood.


	6. Butter

Prompt from Sebastian-Flight ^_^

Title: Butter  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Cain and Glitch eat the last of the butter and have to deal with the consequences.  
>Note: Um, this one started as a normal drabble and then it sort of got weird XD<p>

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><p>A drawn out yawn broke Cain's focus on the warm breakfast on his plate and he looked up to see Glitch walking into the dining room with stiff, sleepy steps. He was in only his tight grey shorts and a white shirt that Cain suspected was his own, judging by how loosely it hanged on Glitch's narrow shoulders. Said shoulders were touching Cain a moment later when Glitch finally made it all the way to the table and, instead of sitting down in his usual place, chose to wrap his arms around Cain's neck and nuzzle against him from behind. He slumped on the back of the chair as if he intended to keep sleeping there now that Cain had left their bed.<p>

"M'rng" he muttered unintelligibly against Cain's neck,

"Good morning to you too, sweetheart" Cain smirked as he disentangled his lover's arms from across his chest and sat him down on the empty chair beside him. "Here, have some breakfast."

The warm mug of coffee that Cain pressed into his hands seemed wake him up just a bit. Then the following plate of pancakes managed to get his full attention.

"Mm," Glitch sniffed at the syrupy stack of pancakes before plunking a piece into his mouth, "Butter?"

"The last of it," Cain said as he reached for a Central City newspaper and, having just finished his own breakfast, began to skim through it. Change for the better wasn't an instant thing in the O.Z. even now that the witch was gone. People still had trouble believing it for one, and there was a lot of work to be done to get the kingdom back to where it had once been. For now, they were just happy to all be free and alive; not to mention getting back the little pleasures in life such as a bar of soap and a pat of butter.

Except when those things ran out in the newly retaken, almost-in-shambles-palace, as it had now.

Even if they'd have to go on a quest for those simple needs later, they sat in comfortable silence in the late morning as Glitch happily devoured his breakfast and Cain read his paper. That blissful peace was shattered however, when a green, tousled creature stepped into the room with a murderous look on her frightening face.

"Aah! Cain, what is it?!" Glitch yelped and clung to him as he stared at the scary, creepy, mean looking woman before them.

"Where is it?!" the green monster demanded in a terrible screech, her messy black hair whipping around in a dark cloud as she snapped her head from them to the kitchen and back. "Where. Is. The butter. There was some left last night!"

"Oh it's gone," Glitch giggled, just a little less afraid of DG the Butter Witch, "I'm eating the last of it."

"You took the last of the butter?!"

"Your problem for getting up so late!"

"Uh, princess, no offense but you look like the witch came back and took over you instead," Cain quirked an eyebrow at her, "What's with all the green stuff?"

"My mo—the Queen suggested it... It actually feels really nice but thank you for your concern." She glared at them and stormed out of the room in a blaze of green facial mush and a dramatic tangle of dark hair on a black towel that seemed to twist in the shape of a very ugly hat. "And find more butter!"

Cain and Glitch sat back on their seats after she was gone, wondering what had just happened; and then laughed and laughed even while they were out shopping for the precious butter.


	7. Purple

Prompt from Nosferatu ^_^

Title: Purple  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Glitch ends up with an unexpected side-effect from the rebrainment surgery, and neither he nor Cain mind that much.  
>Note: Sappy little thing. This is yet another one of my versions of a rebrained Ambrose.<p>

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><p>"Don't you think there's too much purple?"Cain went to lean over Glitch's shoulder to get a better look of what he was painting; from where he was, all he could see was a big splotch of purple paint on the canvas.<p>

"Nah," Glitch said, "It's perfect!"

Upon closer viewing, Glitch's painting seemed more like an intricate mosaic of purples, violets, and lavenders in long streaks that made up the image of the park they were in. There were longer, scraggly lines that ranged in various tones and depicted the trees, lighter and softer strokes that were the clouds; and little purple figures, often paired up on lilac grass, to represent people. It was actually a rather good painting, and certainly not just a big splotch of purple...

"It's lovely," he said, earning him a peck on the lips and an armful of an elated ex-headcase.

Ever since Glitch's surgery, there hadn't really been many changes in the optimistic man; he had even chosen to keep his name. The only noticeable change, besides a lack of glitches of course, was that he saw sounds. The doctors had told them it was a condition called synthesia, and that it had been an unintentional effect caused during the surgery, that it might go away eventually or that it might not. It wasn't too bad really, except when Cain would say a particular word and Glitch would stare off at something only he could see with a curious expression; almost like a glitch.

DG, being an artist herself, had suggested he take up painting so he could let it out in an artistic outlet or something like that. But so long as Glitch was happy and complete, Cain saw no problem with this condition of his. He had come to realize that Glitch would always have some eccentricity to surprise him with, and he would be there through the good and the bad; whether it was something like a missing half of a brain, or an overabundance of the color purple.

"Just out of curiosity, sweetheart," Cain said as he placed a hand on Glitch's back and watched him work, "What's the word for purple that's got you painting it so much?"

Glitch smiled, "Purple is for love."


	8. Orchard

This one was for a prompt from Sebastian.

Title: Orchard  
>Rating: PG-13<br>Summary: Glitch wanders off, Cain might be too harsh, but they forgive each other soon enough.

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><p>When the papay bowed before them and spared their life, Cain's first thought was that his ragtag group of companions and himself were both the unluckiest and luckiest bastards in the O.Z.<p>

He kept a watchful eye as they carefully stepped around the bowing papay; bowing back, waving, and giving their thanks as they passed. When he saw the small assembly focused on collecting the unexpected crops, he let himself slightly relax, but not without staying alert of their surroundings.

They made their way across most of the rest of the barren fields without another incident. Occasionally DG would brush against a tree as she walked past it, and it would flourish with life and fresh fruit. Cain didn't think it was a good idea to be doing that right now, thinking of how it could attract more runners and delay their progress; but the pooch kept encouraging her to use her magic. So far though, they hadn't had a problem.

That is, until Cain looked back and found Glitch ten steps behind them, cornered against a newly restored tree by a crouching papay. Cain cursed under his breath at having let Glitch wander off again, he should have kept better watch of him, and set off toward him at a measured walk, signaling the others to stop and stay put. He could see the cause of the disturbance in the plain sunlight, a bright juicy fruit shinning accusingly in Glitch's hands.

"It's alright..." Cain said slowly as he neared the papay and positioned himself between it and Glitch, "We mean no offense. And he's going to give that back... Aren't you, Glitch?" He scowled and hissed at the man behind him, "Do you want to get us killed?"

"I'm sorry," Glitch murmured back, "It just looked so good."

"Well give it back."

"But—" The papay's guttural snarl put a stop to his protests and brought his attention back to their current situation.

"Drop it now, Glitch" Cain said as he looked back at Glitch and reached for his hand, "It's not worth—"

"Hey!" DG called out, suddenly right next to the papay,

"Kid, I told you to stay back!"

"No, it's okay..." she said as she moved closer deliberately while staying in the creature's view, "There's plenty for everyone. See?" With a tentative gesture, she pressed her outstretched palm against another scorched tree, and let out a relieved breath when it bloomed and led the papay away from them. Now that the path was clear, they made their way to the others and kept walking as more papay joined to gather the fruit.

"Come on." Cain grabbed Glitch by the wrist and pulled hard enough to make him drop the fruit in his hands.

"Papay hungry. Haven't had orchards for many annuals," Raw explained as they walked, "Desperate."

From then on DG kept touching trees more frequently. Glitch silently walked along next to Cain, who still had his wrist in his grip to keep him from wandering off again. He was too quiet in fact, and when Cain looked over to find a look of remorse and sadness in those brown eyes he felt his chest tighten with guilt.

"I'm sorry," Cain said softly, only for Glitch's ears, and let go of Glitch's wrist only to take hold of his hand, "I was just worried..."

Glitch gave his hand a gentle squeeze but didn't look any less sad in Cain's eyes. So he reached out with his free hand to the nearest thriving tree, took the best fruit he saw, and placed it in Glitch's free hand without a word.

After a moment, Glitch looked down at what he had in his hand, then at their joined hands, back at his hand, and back at theirs, and then his eyes lit up.

"Thanks, Cain." He said just as softly, and bit into the fruit as they left the orchard.


	9. It is the Outer Zone

This one was inspired by that video where the writers of Tin Man were asked what they thought about the pairings and their reaction to Cain/Glitch was surprisingly epic XD

Title: It is the Outer Zone  
>Rating: PG-13<br>Summary: It _is_ the Outer Zone, anything could happen.

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><p>As she walked down the hallway to Glitch's room, DG wondered why he was running late. It wasn't even that early in the morning anymore, surely he wasn't still sleeping... Or maybe, she thought sympathetically, he just forgot.<p>

"Hey, Glitch!" she called out as she reached his door, knocking lightly on the polished wood, "You're late for your appointment with the medicos. I volunteered to come get you so come on."

When there was no answer, she rapped her knuckles against the door again; and again, nothing from the other side, "Glitch?"

He was already over an hour late, and she knew there was nowhere else he could be because they had already sent people to look for him everywhere else half an hour earlier, so DG made up her mind and reached out for the door knob. She turned the unlocked knob, they had already told Glitch countless times not to lock himself in, and just as she was about to push the door in—

It was pulled back by Wyatt Cain.

A very shirtless Wyatt Cain, she noticed as she was trying to pick her jaw off the floor.

"What did you want, kid?" he said gruffly, quickly pulling on a shirt he had in his hand and blocking her view of the room with his body.

"I uh... Is Glitch—He's late for his medical checkup?" she tried, but before either of them could say anything else, a loud thump and an "Ow" resonated through the room and out into the hallway. Cain turned to look back inside and DG caught a glimpse of Glitch on the floor next to the bed. Tangled in white sheets. Trying to cover his very obviously naked body.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Cain sighed as he looked back at her, "Oh. Sorry about that, princess."

"So you and Glitch, huh?" DG wasn't sure what to think. Sure, she was happy for her friends, especially after all that flirting Glitch seemed to have been doing, but there was one thing she didn't quite get...

"But—I thought—I mean... Glitch I understand, but you?"

Cain gave her an amused, if somewhat puzzled look, and shrugged, "I don't know how things are in the Otherside, but this is the Outer Zone, kid."


	10. Bees

For another prompt from Nosferatu XD

Title: Bees  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Cain and Glitch face some unexpected foes one lovely afternoon.

* * *

><p>Cain was strolling on the grounds near the palace in Finaqua when he heard a rustling sound from the edge of the woods, coming closer and closer by the second.<p>

He almost had his gun out and pointed in the rustling's direction, but stopped at the cry of his name in Glitch's familiar voice.

"Cain!" Glitch screamed again right as he appeared through the foliage, his eyes wide and his limbs flailing as he ran at full speed, "Run! They're right behind me! Run, run!"

Without asking who was behind him, Cain raised his gun to the spot where Glitch had come from, now that the headcase was out of the way and close to reaching his side. Too late did he notice that his trusted gun wouldn't help them in this case. As hundreds of bees swarmed out of the woods in clear pursuit of Glitch, said zipperhead grabbed Cain's arm with unexpected force and hauled him with him.

"I thought I told you to run!" Glitch yelled as they raced against _bees_, for gods' sake, across the green expanse of open field like a couple of lunatics.

"And I thought there were _people_ following you!" Cain yelled back over the loud buzzing, "You know, like those rebel longcoats we fight all the time."

"Well yes but I can beat those," Glitch said stiffly, shying away from a bee that had gotten too close, "Or you—Ow!—shoot them, but there's nothing my rhythm or your gun can do against these! _Ow!_"

In the end, they couldn't outrun the swarm of bees for much longer and ended up thoroughly stung and sore before Glitch or he, Cain wasn't sure who, hurled them both into the nearby lake to escape. They stayed there for a while, the cool sweet water rippling around them, and clung to each other until the coast was clear and it was safe to come out. So when they finally made it back to the palace, they were thoroughly stung, sore, _and_ soaked.

Hours later found them in a sitting room, settling down after hot baths and gentle treatments from Raw's hands. They were both healed and comfortable but Cain still wondered what had caused their plight earlier in the day. He didn't believe in consequences and surely Glitch had done something to bring the bees' wrath on them. Whatever it was though, Cain realized he was surprisingly glad that Glitch hadn't had some allergic reaction unknown to him; and that the afternoon hadn't been as bad as it could have been.

As if tuning in to his thoughts, Glitch looked at him from across the recliner he was lying in. "I'm glad you're okay," he said softly,

Then he stood up and walked the short distance to Cain's larger armchair, where he dropped down and curled up next to him.

"I wanted honey." Glitch said very quietly, answering his unasked question.

They lay there together for a long while into the evening—their bodies warm and touching in several places not unlike when they were in the lake, though this was much more comfortable—before Cain eventually broke the silence.

"I'm glad you're okay too."

"Hmm," Cain felt the smile against his neck rather than saw it,

"And Glitch?"

"Hmm?"

"Next time you want honey, just go to the kitchens."

"Will do."


	11. Scream

Title: Scream  
>Rating: R (ish?)<br>Summary: Cain comes home thinking it will be just another uneventful night...  
>Notes: They're just normal Othersiders in this one. For the prompt "Scream" from Nosferatu. I'll probably make a little Part 2 later.<p>

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><p>Cain pulled up to the driveway, parking the car without much thought to how close it was to Ambrose's flower patch in the yard, and turned the engine off with a tired but pleased sigh. He had been taking extended shifts for far too many days now and would have to do so something about it soon, especially since today that extended shift had kept him away from his husband on one of his rare days off. He and Ambrose had simply been too overworked lately. But for now, Cain was just glad to be home after a long day at work. With thoughts of a warm dinner and a kiss on his mind, he got out and headed up the steps to their modest but comfortable two story house, where there were no nosy neighbors for miles.<p>

All the lights in the house seemed to be on, putting it on display to an inexistent audience and making it seem like the inhabitants were up and about. But once he stepped inside and tossed his keys on the table by the door, he saw the post-it note with Ambrose's choppy sentences and scraggly handwriting; the one that meant he was writing fast and unfocused.

_I'm turning in early tonight.  
>Not working, I promise!<br>I made pasta. There's a plate in the microwave. _

As impersonal as that might have seemed to anyone else, Cain was just getting used to Ambrose getting used to them not seeing each other much when they got home at night; and he really needed to do something about that soon.

Rather than go look for Ambrose, who was supposedly asleep, he made a quick trip down the hall to his study to check that the engineer was indeed "not working". Then he turned back, and was just past the stairs on his way to the kitchen when a startling scream blared from upstairs. Cain's head snapped up in shock and he stopped in his tracks. Ambrose.

A moment later he heard the sound of glass shattering and then he was racing up the stairs, his heart slamming against his chest in dread. "Ambrose!"

He dashed to the second landing and almost froze when he saw the scarlet fluid streaming out on the floor from their bedroom door. But he had no time to panic now, no time to beat himself over running without thinking and leaving his gun downstairs, no time to imagine what might await him inside the room. With one swift movement he kicked the door down and barged in, ready to face whoever had hurt Ambrose.

The only problem was that what he saw did freeze him where he stood.

There was Ambrose, standing in the middle of the room, perfectly fine except for a venomous glare he was directing at his laptop; his chair had been blown away to the other end of the room, and a shattered glass of red wine lay scattered in countless tiny pieces at Cain's feet. In that moment, Cain didn't know if he wanted to scream in frustration or relief, so he settled for shrugging off his jacket in the most stoic fashion he could manage—and then left all pretenses at the door as he ran to Ambrose and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Wyatt!" he cried out in surprise when Cain all but lifted him up and twirled him around, as if he was only just noticing him, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Am I okay," Cain scoffed as he dropped his head on Ambrose's shoulder, "You're going to give me a heart attack someday."

"I'm sorry?" Ambrose looked honestly confused, sliding his hands up Cain's biceps as Cain tightened his arms around his waist, "What happened?" For a genius he could be truly clueless about some things.

"I come home and hear you scream, glass shattering, and see red liquid on the floor?" Cain raised an eyebrow and fixed him with a pointed look.

"Oh."

"Jesus, Ambrose. Why were you screaming like that in the first place?"

"Oh!" he turned his head sideways to glare at the open laptop again, his face taking on that unfairly adorable pout as he gave his explanation, "Ernest Raynz just patented something way too similar to my T.D.A.S.S.D.L.! I swear one of his slimy lackeys stole it."

"So you scream bloody murder, destroy a glass, waste our good wine, and almost give me a heart attack? You're unbelievable."

"Well I do pride myself in being able to surprise you from time to time." Ambrose shot back with an impish grin,

"Not a very nice surprise though..." as horrible as that last minute of his day had been—because really, it couldn't have been more than a minute between hearing the scream and kicking down the door—he felt himself relaxing against Ambrose's body, still pressed closed to his. He lowered his head again to the crook of neck, kissing and nipping at the pale soft skin there and drawing a pleased little sound from Ambrose. He missed this; their usual quips at each other over silly things that they ended up laughing about in the morning, instead of feeling like they didn't even have time for a joke; coming home and having a conversation face to face instead of through post-it notes; touching each other in all the places they had claimed, with ardor and shameless need, without worrying about work in the morning... instead of climbing into bed with inches of space between them like they had for far too many days now. Cain would have to do something about that.

He slipped his hands under Ambrose's silk pajama top—he hated this one, so slithery—and occupied them with the much more pleasant texture of the creamy warm skin underneath. One hand traveled up to Ambrose's chest where it ghosted over his nipple before slipping out again and making quick work of undoing the gallingly glossy shirt. The other hand made its way down, disappearing under the rim of the matching pants.

"Well this," Ambrose gasped at his wandering touches, "is certainly more interesting than Raynz's sleaziness..."

"Hmm, it better be," Cain muttered and pressed a kiss to Ambrose's lips. "Wait—Why were you looking that up? We agreed we wouldn't work on days off, Ambrose, unless—"

"Unless there was a missing child or someone was dying." Ambrose rolled his eyes as he recited their old deal, "I wasn't working, I was just... Keeping up on current events."

"It's still work related." Cain countered in a low voice as he pushed the unbuttoned silk shirt off pale shoulders and let it fall to the stained floor; he stepped forward slowly, coaxing Ambrose backwards to the bed. "You broke the rules. You know what that means?"

"You're going to penalize me for my actions, officer?"

"Over and over again, sweetheart."


	12. Clouds

Title: Clouds  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Cliche cloud-watching drabble because it must be done!  
>Notes: Yes, for the prompt "Clouds" from Sebastian-Flight<p>

* * *

><p>Glitch lied down on the grass when they reached the highest point of the low hill, then reached out to tug at Cain's sleeve and dragged him down to the spot next to him.<p>

They lay side by side, shoulders and hips touching as Glitch's arms stretched all the way up; dancing as they animatedly pointed out fluffy white clouds and the shapes they made.

Glitch might have had his entire brain back, but he still acted just the same, and most of the shapes he was seeing made no sense. So Cain chose to just fold his arms under his head and watch in amused silence. He hadn't done this sort of thing when he was younger and he most definitely wasn't going to start now, no matter how much Glitch insisted.

"What do you think of that one?" Glitch smiled expectantly at him, pointing a pale finger at a lonely cloud.

"I think..." He was about to say it just looked like any other puffy cloud when he took a second look and gaped a little at the image, "Well damn, that one looks like my hat."

"See? I told you you'd like this!" Glitch laughed and his arm shot up to point at the brilliant blue sky again, "Oh! What about-"

"You just got lucky with that one.." Cain frowned as he reached up and took Glitch's wandering hand, "I'd like to see you try that again."

"Well that one looks like an anatomically correct heart! Ooh and that one looks like a brain!"

"Uh, I think those two just look like clouds, sweetheart." Cain smirked,

"Oh." Looking oddly pleased with himself, Glitch sat up just enough to lean over Cain and give him a soft kiss, "It's okay anyway, we already found what we were missing."


	13. Stones

Another one for Nosferatu :)

Title: Stones

Rating: PG-13  
>Summary: For no reason.<p>

* * *

><p>The chilly breeze made goosebumps break out across Cain's skin as he threw another stone at Ambrose's window.<p>

He had a bunch of them gathered in his other arm and kept throwing them at the lone, lit window on this side of the palace. It felt ridiculously childish to be doing this, aiming rocks at windows in the middle of the night like a schoolboy, but if Ambrose wouldn't acknowledge him any other way...  
>There was no doubt in Cain's mind that the rebrained but still absentminded inventor was still awake up there; he knew for a fact that Ambrose couldn't fall asleep with the lights turned on. So he kept throwing the small flat stones at his window, one after the other as the minutes passed, hoping to either catch his attention or annoy him enough that he would have to come down.<p>

He was down to the last four stones when he was tackled from behind, turning just at the last moment to see Ambrose before falling on his back. Ambrose landed heavily on top of him and fixed him with a square gaze.

"Mr. Cain," he said in that snobbishly polite tone of his, "I would greatly appreciate it if you stopped doing that."

"Well, you weren't answering when I knocked on your door so I had to get a little old-fashioned, sweetheart."

"And why, might I ask, did you want to see me?"

Cain could already feel the change of tone as Ambrose ran his hands up his arms and leaned in just a tiny bit closer. He caught the chance and flipped them over in the blink of an eye, pinning Glitch under his larger frame.

"Maybe I just wanted to see you," he said quietly, their faces much closer than they had been, "I don't need a reason."

"Is that so? You-" he never got to finish that sentence as Cain silenced him with a peck to the lips. It was brief and soft at first, until Ambrose kissed back earnestly and deepened the kiss; their tongues exploring the depths of each other's mouths the way Cain was sure wouldn't have happened had he let his lover keep talking all night.


	14. Pace

Another one for Nosferatu!

Title: Pace  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Glitch is lagging behind and Cain comes up with a way to make him keep up.  
>Notes: Yes, another one between the wagon and the tower because that part is so cute ;u;<p>

* * *

><p>"Pick up the pace, zipperhead." Cain called back yet again.<p>

He was the one who had a bruised chest and was recovering from hypothermia, but it was Glitch who had lagged behind for most of the day. When they had first set out and left DeMilo's wagon behind them, Glitch had been his usually chipper self and had walked right beside Cain. But as the day progressed, even with the decrease of snow and cold as they got farther away from the Northern Island, Glitch began to fall a few steps behind Cain.

"I'm tired," he said softly, stopping and swaying slightly on the spot.

Cain sighed and turned around to face Glitch, "I know. Believe me, I'm tired as hell too but we need to get DG..."

"You know," Glitch said with a sudden glint in his eye as he took a step closer, "we wouldn't be as tired if we had a distraction."

"Like what?" Cain quirked an eyebrow,

"Oh, I don't know," he took another step closer, "maybe you could hold up the other side of the conversation for once?"

Cain breathed out a laugh and took a step of his own towards his friend, "If I remember correctly, when I woke up I found you talking nonstop as if I had been listening the whole time. I doubt you need me to have a conversation."

"Maybe not, but it would definitely make it better."

"Still tired?" Cain asked, only half sardonically as he realized that they were nearly face to face now. He reached out, giving a light lingering touch to Glitch's arm as if to say "let's go", and closed the remaining distance between them. The intention had been to give an encouraging, very brief hug. But to his surprise, this headcase that he had met a few days ago, this man who had saved his life, didn't feel as alien in his arms as he should have. Maybe that had to do with spending hours in a wagon, huddled together for warmth; but whatever the reason, he didn't flinch or draw back when Glitch pulled him into a full embrace.

"I knew you were a big softy deep down." Glitch said, Cain feeling his soft smile against his cheek.

"I know you're tired," He said after the unexpectedly intimate moment, "but if it's conversation you want, I'll make you a deal. For every twenty steps that we stay at the same pace, you can tell me something about yourself and-"

"You'll tell me something about yourself?" Glitch asked, his eyes wide and brows quirked with interest.

"Well I was going to say that I'd listen and...I don't know, make a comment or two-Hold up my end of the conversation." he rubbed the back of his neck, wanting to get moving already, "But if that's what you want, sure, I'll tell you something about me... But only if you can keep up." He finished briskly, "So start walking, sweetheart."

"Deal!" Glitch smiled and started doing just that, walking eagerly and counting under his breath in concentration. True to his word, he kept in step with Cain, following the pace he set for them; and soon enough he spoke up.

"I don't like snow that much but I love it when it rains."

"My favorite season is spring," Cain said in return, "not too hot, not too cold, and everything blooms."

For a while all they said was simple, mundane details like those. They told each other everything from their favorite colors, to their sleep habits, to their best talents. Though it seemed that talking about himself all this time-albeit with regular interjections to say or ask something to Cain-had distracted Glitch so much that it had triggered something in his memory. Because by the time they had reached the tower, Cain was frustratedly trying to figure out how they would break in, and Glitch was still talking about his days as a fantastic dancer.


	15. Sands

Another!

Title: Sands  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Cain and Ambrose take their grandkids to the beach...  
>Notes: To be honest, these things don't really have plot but I'm still pretty bad at summaries X'D<p>

* * *

><p>Cain lied on his back with his arms crossed under his head, basking in the midday sun while he heard playful cries nearby.<p>

He let the sounds of Ambrose and their grandchildren lull him into a pleased and relaxed state. So much that he had almost fallen asleep on the beach towel when a sudden blow to the stomach jerked him from his placid moment.

"Oof! What the..." He sat up, leaning lopsidedly on his arms, and came face to face with Ambrose.

"Sorry, sorry!" he rattled on as he kneeled in front of Cain and took the dubiously heavy beach ball. "You didn't hear me shouting your name?"

"I was relaxing." Cain countered as he rubbed his middle and eyed the ball suspiciously.

"Thank goodness for that," Ambrose quipped at him, "Sorry, darling. I threw that with a bit more force than I meant to."

Looking over Ambrose's shoulder, Cain noticed that the kids had gone back to playing at the edge of the beach and that the ball had been forgotten anyway. At once, he pulled Ambrose closer and gave him a quick, but loving kiss.

"It's fine," he said, "But maybe you could switch to sand castles now, sweetheart."

"Oh!" The ex-headcase's eyes lit up, kiss abandoned in favor of building sand castles, "That's a great idea! We can make the Northern Palace, and the castle at Finaqua, and their house in Kansas, and why just castles? I could design an invention or two, you could make your hat!... And now you have to join in, there's no way I'm letting you not join in, tin man." Ambrose shook a finger at him as warning and the sharp enthusiasm and determination in his voice left Cain with no choice.  
>He smiled as Ambrose leaned back in and gave him another, more thorough but still Glitch-like kiss before getting up and walking back to where the children played together on the sand.<p>

With relaxation out of his mind, Cain watched while his husband and their two grandkids-a beautiful little dark haired princess and a beautiful even younger fair haired prince-started building a castle from the wet sand. Even from where he sat he could see the three of them working on it happily; and notice Ambrose smiling and talking about how they could add a ballroom and anything else they could come up with to their castle. Cain had been with Ambrose for nearly a decade, and even though he hadn't gone by Glitch for over half that time, he still acted just like he used to. Sure, there were fewer glitches and more inventions nowadays, but he was the same man he fell in love with; and Cain was sure that not even the sands of time could change that.


	16. Power

And another, last one for now. (She gave me a total of 15 prompts, I'll upload the rest later and I still have two or three to finish)

Title: Power  
>Rating: PG-13<br>Summary: When Glitch remembers something after seeing Zero, Cain makes a choice and a promise.  
>Notes: Set during and after Zero's pseudo-torture scene.<p>

* * *

><p>"Part of you does..." Zero said as he fixed his derisive gaze on Glitch, "Ambrose."<p>

"Ambrose?" Jeb asked, before Cain's questioning tone brought out the explanation they wanted to hear, "Our spies found out "Ambrose" is the code word for the brain that runs the machine."

At that revelation, Glitch's dark eyes darted around the room in a daze, "My marbles are in the tower?"

"Where are they?"

While Zero stammered to answer, Cain looked at his grown up son, then back at the bloody man tied up on the chair, and then back at Jeb. It wasn't the fact that Zero had been beaten and was being threatened with worse torture-he deserved that and more. What bothered him was how easily this came to Jeb; how comfortable he was with it, and how much he seemed to want to drive that sword through Zero until there was nothing left.

Cain knew that feeling. It was the first thing on his mind when he was let out of the suit and it had been the thought that had accompanied him for all those years inside. That same thought was part of what had made him so cold and unable to simply grieve and move on, and it pained him to see his son making the same mistake.

He stepped forward swiftly and stopped Jeb from using the sword on their captive, telling him the same things that he had only very recently decided to tell himself. It was true that killing Zero wouldn't bring back Adora, but it still hurt and he still wanted revenge. So saying the words to Jeb helped Cain restrain himself as well. By the end of it, Jeb had backed off and Zero was slumped in his chair in what was likely a mix of shame, relief, and regret.

As they filed out of the dark tent to make further plans, Cain looked back and caught Glitch still standing there, staring at Zero. When he raised his head and stared back at Glitch with those teasing steel eyes, Cain grabbed the headcase by the arm and pushed him outside.

"Don't go near him." He warned Glitch once they were a few feet away from the tent and the others, "Do you understand? He's dangerous, so stay away from him."

"He-he knew me..." Glitch stammered as his gaze fell to the ground.

Slowly letting go of his arm, Cain noticed that Glitch still looked stunned and almost peaky.

"What is it?" he asked, getting concerned by his friend's faraway gaze.

"He-I-I remembered him..." Glitch said very quietly, his voice little more than a whisper, "He was there when they...held me prisoner."

Cain closed his eyes for a moment as what Glitch was saying set in his mind. Then he led them even farther away from the tent to a quiet corner by the supplies and weapons and gently sat Glitch down on a sanded log before doing the same and looking him in the eye.

"Did he hurt you?"

"Yes." Glitch said just as quietly. His eyes were teary and squinted in what looked like an effort to remember more; and Cain hoped that he wouldn't, seeing the shaky state in which he was already.

"I-I can't remember any details but I know he was one of the longcoats there... I remember he l-liked it. And that he once told me anyone would enjoy doing what he did. That everyone would want to do it, because it was about power."

Glitch was actually shaking now because of something he couldn't even fully remember, and it gave Cain yet another reason to hate Zero.

"Well he doesn't have any power now." He said through a deep scowl of barely concealed anger.

"Why did you stop your son from hurting him?" Glitch asked suddenly, blinking big watery eyes up at him,

"Because he wouldn't have just hurt him," Cain said, slightly taken aback, "He would have killed him."

"But wasn't that what you wanted?"

"It was..."

"But not anymore?" Glitch asked in confusion.

"I don't know," Cain sighed, "I don't feel exactly the same anymore. But that doesn't mean I don't want to do anything. It just means I want to have the strength to get justice instead of blind revenge."

After a moment, Glitch smiled softly at him and seemed more at ease, "You're a good guy, Cain."

Before a blush could creep on his face, Cain patted Glitch's leg lightly to get them moving. He stood up willing away the thoughts about Zero to replace them with all that had to be done to stop the eclipse. But when Glitch made to stand up after him he accidentally slipped his hand on one of the blades stocked behind the log.

"Son of an ankle-bitter!" he let out a sharp cry of pain and Cain took his injured hand in both of his.

"Damn it, let me see."

"It's not so bad..." Glitch said, even as he winced at Cain's touch.

"It could've been worse." Cain muttered in agreement as he gave one last subtle caress to Glitch's hand before reluctantly letting go. Though maybe it wasn't so subtle, because Glitch looked at him differently then; biting his lip as light pink colored his cheeks.

Cain was about to say something when he heard his son's voice calling him from behind. He turned around to see Jeb approaching steadily; and he didn't look happy.

"I... I'll just go see Raw now." Glitch said faintly, and as he turned to leave Cain saw the light reflect on the wetness at the top of his cheeks.

He wasn't entirely sure if his tears were because of the cut in his hand or because of his latest memory that he would probably forget in a few hours.

"Glitch," Cain said, taking his arm before he walked away, "He'll pay for the things he has done. Maybe not tonight and maybe not the way I'd like, but he'll pay."

It was a promise he had made to the family he had lost, to himself, and now to Glitch. He watched him go as Jeb got closer, no doubt to have a discussion about their prisoner. No matter what Cain said or did, the fact was that Zero was a twisted man who took pleasure in hurting others, and he deserved everything that Jeb had in mind. If they let themselves feel that way and fall to that level then they would be lost without a heart, but now Cain felt that he had the power to be a better man.


	17. Toys

This is for another prompt from Nosferatu (see my uncreative titles) :)

Title: Toys

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Cain and Ambrose find some old toys.

* * *

><p>It was on a slow, rainy day that Ambrose decided to clean out his old room in the palace and move anything that was still of value to the room he now shared with Cain. By the time they had sorted everything that had been preserved in boxes—everything the longcoats hadn't destroyed—the floor was covered in stacks of brown boxes safe for the spot in which Cain and Ambrose were sitting cross-legged.<p>

Ambrose, though he was still very much Glitch, exhaled heavily, "Why did I have so much stuff? These things aren't even inventions! They're just... _stuff."_

"Beats me." Cain said as he sifted through another box of belongings.

"Let's see... There's some more old tools here."

"Throw them out. I have an entire lab of new tools."

Cain closed the box and moved it to the garbage pile.

"More books."

"Put them in the 'Think Over' pile until I see what they're about." Ambrose said as he did the same with a small box of recordings he had found.

Hours later—after they had sorted out through stacks and stacks of boxes and everything had been organized into 'Keep', 'Think Over', 'Garbage', or 'Charity' piles—they found themselves still casually sitting in that clear spot on the floor while they ate a semi cold dinner.

Ambrose sighed and slid down to lie on his back. He looked up at Cain lovingly and took his hand, "Thanks for helping me with this."

"Anytime," Cain said, leaning down over Ambrose to kiss his delicate lips. "Not literally though, I hope." He joked when he resurfaced, "I'm helping you move your things this one time but it's not like you'll be changing rooms again anytime soon, right?"

Ambrose laughed his silly, Glitch-y laugh and kissed him again as the rain sounds went on outside, "I'm not going anywhere.  
>"Except, you know, maybe my lab from time to time," he said with a casual shrug, "But all those toys and gadgets couldn't keep me away from you."<p>

"They better not." Cain chuckled against the other's mouth as he sank down into yet another tender kiss; loving every second of these simple moments he got to enjoy with Ambrose now.

When they broke apart for air and Cain looked up again, he noticed a lone box in front of them that hadn't been stacked with any of the others.

"Hey, we missed one."

"Oh?" Ambrose sat up and turned around to see what he meant. "Huh, I guess we did. What's in it?"

Cain reluctantly left their pleasant position if only for a moment to go inspect the contents of the cardboard box.

"Toys," he said, surprised by the dozen or so small figures inside, "Actual toys."

They seemed to be mostly old dolls; all about four inches tall and made of clockwork like the rest of Ambrose's earlier machines.

Each of them even had carefully crafted hair and dresses that seemed to have been painted with great skill and care.

Without bothering to stand, Ambrose inched closer to Cain's side and saw for himself. "Oh, I remember these..." he said wistfully, "Ahamo and I made them a very long time ago for the girls... I don't think they ever got to use them though."

Seeing the look of nostalgic melancholy that crossed Ambrose's face as he remembered that particular point in time, Cain didn't have to ask why the toys had never been used. He knew that with a princess dead and the other no longer an innocent child, there hadn't been use for such things. Cain rested his hand on Ambrose's back and rubbed it gently for a while.

"We should give those to the orphanage."

"And maybe DG will want a couple." Ambrose said, sounding more optimistic.

"Don't you think she's a little old for them?" Cain said amusedly,

"No, I meant for her future kids." he tilted his head and smiled good-humoredly, "You know, now that she and Jeb are married."

"Oh, right." Cain mentally smacked himself for overseeing such an obvious solution. The truth was that even if it had been five years since they had gotten their lives back and his small group of friends and family had changed considerably in that time, he still wasn't used to seeing his son grown and married. It was still strange, but not in an unpleasant way, and Cain was grateful for the way things had turned out. He shifted ever closer to his lover and wrapped an arm around narrow shoulders as he nuzzled the smooth pale cheek close to his.

"It would be nice if DG and Az got to see these, even after all this time." Ambrose said contentedly, turning slightly sideways to drape his arms around Cain's neck.

"You're right," Cain leaned into the embrace, "Even old toys have some uses."

As the rain kept hammering the outside walls, they fell back to the floor lazily even as the box ended up being nudged to the 'Keep' pile in the midst of their earnest movements.


	18. Relief

Another word prompt from Nosferatu :)

Title: Relief

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Cain doesn't want to be on the ice.

* * *

><p>The chill winter air bit at the back of Cain's neck, and he turned his collar up as he walked through the snow after Glitch.<p>

Despite not being very fond of the cold and it being almost the middle of winter, his friend had insisted on going out to play in the snow; and that Cain should come with him to keep him warm. Normally they would have left the Northern Island by now and headed down to the warmer temperatures of Finaqua, but this annual they had been busy long into the fall and hadn't had a chance to move yet. Glitch, naturally, had taken that as an opportunity to drag Cain along on another of his adventures.

"Come on, tin man!" Glitch shouted from a good distance ahead of him, "If you don't quicken the pace there will be consequences!"

"Oh yeah?" Cain started going after him at a light jog when he saw Glitch making a snowball and ducking out of sight behind the tree line.

They were far away enough from the palace that they had crossed one of the island's bridges safely and reached the edge of the forest, but close enough that they were still within its icy terrain. Even though Glitch had had his brain back for three annuals and the former Ambrose would have probably scoffed at the idea of spending a day frolicking in the snow, the man Cain had grown to know and care about grabbed any chance he could get to do just that; and hauled Cain with him every single time. But he wasn't complaining. He enjoyed Glitch's company more and more now that things were finally settling down, and he wasn't going to admit it but getting out of the palace today had been the perfect idea after such an exhausting month.

When he got near where he had last seen Glitch, Cain bent down and formed a firm snowball between his hands. He walked ahead with caution, peering around random trees as he looked for his target. Having no luck in finding the former zipperhead, he turned a corner and then a smile tugged on his lips when he heard the familiar voice behind him.

"Too slow!" Glitch laughed just as a snowball crashed against Cain's back.  
>Cain turned around swiftly and threw his own snowball at Glitch, landing a direct hit to his shoulder before he could get away.<p>

"Come here!"

They engaged in a friendly battle and threw snowballs back and forth for a good fifteen minutes before Cain crossed the short gap between them and tackled Glitch to the mound of snow behind which he had been hiding. He only managed to get there after being bombarded by snowballs but it was worth it.

"Got you now..." he said softly, hovering slightly over Glitch to avoid putting his entire weight on him.

"Yeah, you do." Glitch said dreamily, "Though you know, you got critically hit on the way." He grinned, pointing at the heaps of snow that dripped from Cain's hat and shoulders.

Cain hummed in agreement and thought of how beautiful Glitch looked like this, with a wide smile and a light blush on his cheeks; his thick dark curls framed by ivory snow lighter than his fair skin and his deep brown eyes brilliantly fixed on him. He thought of how easy it would be to lean in and kiss Glitch, how easy it would be to lie down and slide his arms around the wiry waist; to find some relief to the feelings that had been bubbling up for the longest time.

But he didn't. Instead, he stood up and offered a hand to help him up, choosing to gather his nerve another day.

It was still early but they started heading home to meet with Raw and DG for a late lunch. They walked side by side until they arrived at the stone bridge to one of the palace's entrances, and Glitch drew away from Cain toward the frozen lake.

"Hey, we should skate!" he said enthusiastically as his feet hit the ice and he slid over the surface unsteadily, extending his arms for balance.

The lake surrounding the palace was always frozen solid and was supposedly safe enough to cross, but there were bridges for a reason. Cain still remembered his close brush with hypothermia at this same frozen body of water when he had been thrown with enough force to break through it, and he approached the edge where snow met ice warily.

"Glitch, not today, okay?" he all but pleaded, "Let's just go home... DG and Raw are waiting."

"Oh come on, just dance with me for a while." Glitch smiled, twirling in place once before sliding further away from him. "I assure you the ice is quite thick this time of the annual. It won't crack, I promise."

"We don't have skates."

"Why should that stop us?" Glitch urged as he extended a hand to him, "Come on."

"Glitch, get back here now."

It was like he glided farther into the white expanse with every word, so Cain finally stepped forward with caution, wobbling slightly, and held out his hand. Glitch might laugh at him for this later but he just had a bad feeling and didn't want to be on the ice. "Please."

"Jeez, fine." Fortunately, Glitch seemed to notice the unease in his voice and started sliding back toward the edge.

But before their reaching hands could meet, Glitch took a brisk faulty step and slipped; he fell on his backside first but his head crashed hard on the ice before Cain could get to him.

"Glitch!" Cain was beside him a second later, kneeling on the unbroken ice beside the unconscious man just as he saw blood beginning to pool under his head.

"Gods," he gave a shaky breath as he listened to his friend's thankfully steady heartbeat, then quickly bent down and pulled him into his arms, carefully putting a hand behind his injured skull. After some urgent maneuvering to get off the slippery surface, Cain hooked an arm under Glitch's legs and propped his bleeding head on his shoulder, carrying him across the bridge back to the palace as fast as he could.

After a couple startled guards had let them through the gates and into the safe walls, Cain knelt down and gently lowered Glitch to the floor without letting go of him.

He heard DG coming before he saw her. "You guys went out without me! How—"

She stopped dead in her tracks once she entered the foyer and saw Glitch.

"Oh my God! What happened?" She gasped, "Is he—"

"He slipped on the ice." Cain said hastily, "Just go get Raw."

Taking one last look at Glitch's still form, she nodded once and ran back the way she came. Just then, Cain felt Glitch's head turning against his chest and he looked down to see a pair of bleary brown eyes.

"Ouch." Glitch muttered, "You were right, maybe I should have left skating for another day."

"You scared me." Cain said quietly, tightening his hold on him, "Just hang on, Raw's going to check you out in a moment and you'll be fine."

Even though the shoulder of his coat was soaked in blood, he could tell the flow was already stopping. It was probably just a flesh wound but Cain didn't want to take any risks given Glitch's medical history; and relief rushed through him when he saw Raw approaching them, followed by a very worried DG.

Glitch had closed his eyes again while they had been waiting, but he looked like he was just sleeping now instead of being knocked out. Cain was further reassured when Raw knelt beside them and put a wide, soothing hand behind his head.

"Glitch fine." He said as he healed him, "Wound bleed much, but not hurt him badly."

Once Raw was done, they lifted Glitch and carried him to his bedroom together, settling him into the bed while DG went to get some wet towels to clean the blood.

"You should change." She told Cain, eyeing the huge dark stain on his coat, "We'll take care of him over here and you can be back before he wakes up."

Cain hadn't told anyone about his growing feelings for Glitch, not even Glitch himself, but DG flashed him a knowing smile as she ushered him out of the room.

An hour later Cain and Glitch were both clean and freshly clothed; DG and Raw having left them alone in the room some time earlier. Slouched in a comfortable armchair by the bed, Cain watched as Glitch slowly stirred and woke up from his restful sleep. He blinked a few times before focusing on Cain and giving him a soft smile.

"Hey," Cain smiled back, sitting on the edge of the bed when Glitch shifted to make a space for him, "You okay?"

Glitch nodded jerkily, but he sounded much clearer this time, "Sorry I gave you a scare. It was just a clumsy fall." He slightly propped himself up on his elbows and smirked, "Although, if you had skated with me like I wanted then maybe you could have caught me."

Cain made an odd sound like a self-deprecating laugh and a sob all in one and dove in to capture Glitch in a tight hug.

"Oh, Wyatt... I'm sorry, I was just kidding. Of course it wasn't your fault!"

"No, it's just—" Cain shook his head, leaning back to look at his friend, "I've been trying to figure out how to tell you something and— I was so scared when I saw you bleeding out there. I was scared at the thought of you getting hurt without having the chance to..."

"To what? What did you want to tell me?" Glitch looked at him questioningly, deep brown eyes searching his own.

For some reason he struggled to get the words out. The possibility of Glitch not feeling the same way at all and this just putting a strain on their friendship went through his mind; he didn't want to risk that either. Still perched beside Glitch, he sighed and tipped forward until their foreheads touched.

"Wyatt?" he asked softly, and it was all the warning Cain got before the other man reached up and kissed him.

Glitch put his hand on the back of his neck, drawing him in and deepening the kiss as Cain's arms encircled his waist. It was a slow, gentle kiss that left Cain breathless and it felt like standing in the suns' light after the eclipse all over again.

"Was that what you wanted to tell me?" Glitch asked after they broke apart.

"Yeah," Cain chuckled, climbing fully under the covers beside him, "Thanks for figuring it out, sweetheart."

Glitch beamed, "It was taking you long enough, tin man!"

For months—or maybe even annuals—Cain had been falling for Glitch without knowing how to let him know. He had been too afraid to let him know, but all it had taken was a slip and a scare for them to realize what had been in front of them all along.


End file.
